Denise+HenryLBF

Executive Summary
This report summarizes a brief, informal study of the elements that create "fun" or "boring" learning experiences. Graduate students in an education program were requested to locate respondents for an online survey to collect data. Respondents, student's friends and family members, range in age from 7 years old to 72 years old, the mean age of respondents is 35. The data collected in the survey was downloaded to a spreadsheet, sorted, and manipulated to surface trends and generalizations of the population's feelings of the nature of "fun" or "boring" learning experiences. Anecdotal accounts of experiences were coded to determine common threads in personal experiences, leading to generalizations about "boring" and "fun" learning experiences.

What Makes Learning Boring?
Approximately eight-eight percent of "boring" learning experiences occurred in a classroom or training event. Characteristics of "boring" experiences include: listening, sitting quietly, little peer-to-peer or teacher-to-student interaction, an unenthusiastic teacher, and learning that did not allow the student to work at her own pace. It is not a surprise that the student's perception of their instructor's expectations cluster around the acts of listening (93%), watching (69%), sitting still (74%), and remembering (66%).

Hadi's response, "Listening it gets me tired, I just wanna sleep but my Pepsi keeps me awake" echos the sentiments of many students who lose focus during lectures. Technologically enhanced lectures do not ensure student engagement. Craig Laig relays, "It was a dry lecture that was basically being read off the PowerPoint". Ronald Cook recalls a class in high school, Auto Repair, that creates mental imagery of greasy students with tools in hand engaged in conversation and physical work. Ronald conveys his boredom with "simple memorization and no interactivity" with classmates, technology, or artifacts. Elementary through graduate level students express boredom when asked to "sit and git" through lectures. Another source of boredom is an activity that is repeated. Lindz was required to outline a textbook chapter daily in her high school class. She perceived the teacher's central expectation from students as to "sit still".
 * 1) The classroom expectation for students to "watch and learn" drains student enthusiasm and attention from the lesson.**

Handsome B. Wonderful felt the instructional delivery felt "forced" and that "no meaningful dialog seemed to take place". Presenters who may lack experience teaching a subject or rely too heavily on notes may give the student the impression of being "more focused on getting through the material than interacting with the audience" as Kaybee points out. As I read the responses relating to this generalization, I'm reminded of the teacher in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The teacher drones on in monotone about the subject, pausing only for an occasional, "Anyone, anyone?" before answering his own question and moving to the next topic.
 * 2) Students report dissatisfaction with instructors who are perceived to be disengaged with the material or the students in the class.**

Students perceptions of their teacher's level of caring for students as individuals and ability to deliver engaging lessons affect their boredom level in class. Bob Ray called his pre-algebra teacher a tyrant and felt he would "pick on shy kids" and "give students dirty looks" during class. Students who felt the teacher did not sufficiently extinguish misbehavior also report feeling bored. Students were also bored in classes in which they felt the teacher did not give enough attention to student's difficulty with material or referred the student to a textbook page versus explaining an answer.
 * 3) The instructor's teaching style and personality play a significant role in the level of boredom reported by the student.**

**4) Students who cannot navigate through material at their own speed become bored and express frustration.** Big Bisquit attended a training that covered material he felt was "common knowledge". He was required to work through the the module and became bored because he was forced to complete tasks that did not mentally challenge hi . Learning experiences that do not place the student at the center of the lesson can "kill the experience" as Pinky relates. She felt like she was required to be a "passive audience to a bad performance". Allowing Pinky to choose learning paths and accelerate her pace thorough the material could increase her engagement with the material.

El Cajon Ed yearned for interaction with his peers during his U.S. History class in middle school. Many of the individuals who became bored when not able to work with their peers also perceive their instructor's expectation to "sit still" and "listen". Trainings, workshops, and formal classes that did not provide opportunity for interaction overwhelmingly bored attendees.
 * 5) Students who express boredom also express dissatisfaction working in an environment devoid of human interaction.**

What Makes Learning Fun?
It is noteworthy that the majority of "fun" learning experiences took place in the same location as those categorized as "boring" - the classroom. Surveyed individuals reported numerous instructor expectations for the activities each described as "fun". Categories earning the highest tallies in the "boring" category are included in the description of the "fun" activities was well. The delineation of the two lies in the additional demands students perceive from the instructor. Students having fun while learning report interacting with the instructor, peers, and technology or artifacts. Many enjoyed freedom of movement and a presentation or performance component. Students were also engaged by the challenge to think critically or creatively during the activity.

Individuals of all ages describe favorable experiences that include discussion with instructors and collaborative teaming with peers. One reason may be that students are able to drop their guard and feel comfortable taking academic risks. Dancer relates that she feels "valued" because the class allows time for her to comment. Constant interaction increased wen-dog's enjoyment of the learning environment. Numerous students describe "fun" projects that were completed in groups such as building balsa wood bridges and hurricane proof houses.
 * 1) Students enjoy working with each other and their teachers in varied activities and settings.**

Students of all ages report experiences as "fun" when they get to build, create, and manipulate objects in the course of learning. Students who work tactically are usually not expected to exhibit the "boring" behaviors like sitting still and being quiet. Ms. Keiko enjoyed her lab classes in graduate school as did Erin K in the K-12 classroom where she was encouraged to express learning through poster projects.
 * 2) Students find hands-on learning to be enjoyable.**

A majority of the respondents in this section of the survey discuss their instructor using adjectives reflecting their admiration and appreciation of their instructor. Teacher M recalled a teacher who "inspired us to believe in ourselves" and that he felt that the teacher "really respected us as people". Students who felt the teacher took time to give individual attention to each student also reported the class as "fun".
 * 3) Students who like and respect their instructor report enjoyment with the learning experience.**

Learners report high levels of satisfaction with classes that connect to them in a personal way. Ruby B greatly enjoyed a training event exercise that included an activity that was "all about me". Simulation and acting out learning was often mentioned by learners having fun. Masher was focused on the lesson "be cause I knew that I would have to apply them later on ". Mr Bad enjoyed " seeing relationships between knowledge and real life, so the class was oriented to my learning process. " Learners who feel that their learning is relevant perceive the learning as fun.
 * 4) Learning is reported as fun when the student sees a connection to her life or the world beyond the classroom walls.**

Appletown Android explains, "This experience was fun because it was extremely interactive and forced me to consistently think out of the box". Often, creative exercises include an element of the unknown. As Big Bisquit relates, he "was not sure if the experiment would work". For him and others, not knowing exactly how the experience would culmunate promoted satisfaction with the process.
 * 5) Instructors who provide opportunities for students to express individual creativity create a fun learning environment for many.**

Implications
Analysis of the survey responses reinforces my intuition and training concerning the elements that create enjoyable learning environments. As I read the survey responses I pictured my students faces, both current and past, am reminded of my triumphs in the classroom and of the areas in which I need to develop my skills further.